The President of the Republic today promulgated the diploma that regulates the use of speedboats to combat drug trafficking, one day after a GNR soldier died in pursuit of one of these boats.
“The President of the Republic promulgated the diploma of the Assembly of the Republic that authorizes the Government to establish the regime applicable to high-speed vessels and to establish the respective sanctioning regime”, states the website of the Presidency of the Portuguese Republic.
On Monday night, a patrol from Olhão Coastal Control was sent to the Guadiana River after a speedboat was detected, having been rammed when trying to board the vessel. One GNR agent died and three others were injured.
After the collision, the high-speed boat was found burning approximately four kilometers from the place where the accident occurred off Alcoutim, in the district of Faro, but the occupants had already fled.
The authorities admit that it was yet another case of drug trafficking, a problem that has been growing in size in the country and that led the Government to create new legislation, since the regime in force dated back to 1990 and only stipulated rules for the circulation of speedboats.
The diploma promulgated today by Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa was approved at the end of last month in parliament and provides for a penal framework of one to four years in prison for “whoever transports, imports or exports” speedboats or “enters or leaves the national territory” in them without authorization from the Tax and Customs Authority.
Furthermore, construction or modification projects for high-speed vessels (EAV) must be submitted to the General Directorate of Natural Resources, Security and Maritime Services.
Anyone who fails to do so risks a prison sentence of up to two years, as do crew members who carry more fuel on an EAV than permitted or use mechanisms – such as paint or electronic equipment – to prevent the vessels from appearing on radars.
Fines are now increased to a maximum of 25 thousand euros for individuals and up to 100 thousand euros for legal entities.
In the debate in the Assembly of the Republic, the Minister of Justice warned of the trend of changing drug trafficking routes to the Portuguese coast.
According to Rita Alarcão Júdice, Portugal has recorded, since 2020, “a significant increase in the detection and seizure of inflatable and semi-rigid high-speed boats” and the use of these speedboats by criminal drug trafficking organizations is increasingly common.
The proposed law to regulate the use of EAV was approved on August 7th by the Council of Ministers and subsequently approved by the Assembly of the Republic, with the abstention of the PS, Livre, PCP and Bloco de Esquerda.
The Minister of the Presidency, António Leitão Amaro, defended on the day the diploma was approved by the Council of Ministers that “fast boats should not and have no place in Portugal as instruments of crime” and that the new regime should prevent it.
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